Due to the storms that hit North Texas in April, 90-year-old Bobbie Dean was in need of a quick repair on her South Dallas home.
Trees had fallen, causing damage to the roof and leading to water leaking into her residence. She couldn’t afford insurance since her current insurance plan doesn’t pay for damages.
“I find myself sometimes not breathing due to some of the mold and stuff inside,” Dean reported.
“Seniors are having to choose between medicine, food, and home repairs. I know that as a society, as a nation, as a community, we are better than that,” stated Mark Jones a local investor.
Once Jones and another investor, Maurice Wilson II, learned of Dean’s story, they decided to help.
“People will say somebody should do something about that or somebody should do something. I’m more and more aware of the fact that we are those somebodies,” Wilson II noted.
“We had folks from different parts of the community come out and cut the trees down,” he stated.
They repaired the whole roof at no cost and are working on the water damage inside the residence.
“We understand that Superman is not coming. It’s not her fault that a tree fell, but I think what it did was it created responsibility for us. It wasn’t her fault, but it’s our responsibility because we saw it,” Jones added.
Not only have they been repairing things at the home, but they also provided Dean with a phone and internet service.
“While we celebrate today, there are so many other Ms. Deans to address and be willing to deal with this because this is not going away. We want our seniors to age in place,” Jones commented.
Now, Dean will be able to keep aging in her family residence.
“It means everything to me. Without it, I don’t know where I would have been. It has been such a blessing to have somebody to care until it’s almost impossible to just… I find myself praying and crying,” Dean stated.
Jones and Wilson are now searching for volunteers and donations so that more repairs can be done on Dean’s residence.
Anyone interested in assisting can send an email to wagjones@gmail.com or call (214)-924-2089.
